Nepal Airlines faces bleak future - ministry

Nepal Airlines tenders for appraisal of mothballed B757

Nepal Airlines' decision to buy three STOL types questioned

Nepal Airlines issues RFP for three STOL aircraft

Nepal Airlines (RA, Kathmandu) has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for three short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft. The RFP, formally titled NAC-PURCHASE/ 01/STOL/80-8, was issued on October 22, 2023, and invites bids from STOL aircraft manufacturers who wish to participate in the single-stage, two-envelope bidding process.

The state-owned airline seeks brand-new aircraft with zero flight hours and no more than 25 hours of flying for test flight performance. The RFP documentation stipulates a minimum engine capacity of 620 shaft horsepower that can provide at least 4,000 hours of flying before any mandatory overhaul. The aircraft must be able to operate on runways of 1,500 feet or less, be FAA and EASA approved, and come with a fully integrated digital avionics package (including an FDR, a CVR, a 406 MHz ELT with latitude and longitude transmission, HF Radio, and a second ADF radio).

Each aircraft must be able to carry a minimum of 18 passengers plus one cabin crew. All passenger seats should be able to be removed/folded and reinstalled when necessary. Stretcher capacity...

Nepal Airlines recommended to sell Chinese planes for scrap

Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC), trading as Nepal Airlines (RA, Kathmandu), is asking NPR220 million Nepalese rupees (USD1.65 million) for five Chinese-manufactured aircraft that have sat unused at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport since mid-2020.

According to The Kathmandu Post, an independent assessor, US-based Aviation Asset Management Inc., arrived at the scrap value price after being commissioned to appraise the planes earlier this year. The recommendation to sell the two 56-passenger MA-60s and three Y12s for scrap follows several failed campaigns by NAC to offload them.

The recommendation, which cost the state-owned NAC USD20,000 to commission, has reportedly left the airline and government in a quandary. The airline is keen to dispose of the aircraft but reluctant to do so at such a low price, given the Chinese government, via the EXIM Bank of China, provided a NPR3.72 billion (USD27.9 million) soft loan (plus a NPR2.94 billion (USD22.1 million) grant) to buy the planes.

The pair of MA-60s are 9N-AKQ (msn 1007) and 9N-AKR (msn 1008), while the three Y12s are 9N-AKS (msn...